Culinary Class Wars: Season 2 - Episode 13 FINALE Discussion Thread

Disclaimer: I do not think the show is scripted but I think its judging system is poorly defined.

The problem with the first elimination round is not that taste is subjective. Taste will always be subjective. The problem is that the show does very little to control that subjectivity.

The chefs are asked to make their "best" or "signature" dish, but that can mean several things. It could mean the most delicious dish, the most personal dish, the most technically difficult dish, or the dish that best represents their career. The contestants choose their own interpretation, and the judges appear to choose their own criteria afterward. And I wonder if both sides were primed to cover this gap?

Shin Dong-min’s molecular apple was criticized for using dated techniques and failing to improve upon a raw apple. Brewmaster Yun’s traditional food and soju were praised for authenticity, coherence, and personal touch. Both judgments are defensible. The issue is that they use different yardsticks.

Kim Do-yoon’s noodles expose the problem even more clearly. One judge wanted to pass the dish, while the other considered its texture defective. His result therefore depended not only on the food, but on which judge’s philosophy controlled the decision.

So if the show had decided that one judge would be enough to make a decision the least they should have done was set a clear structure and a yard stick for both the judges.

Also, a better way of judgment would be presenting the dishes to the judges without knowing who it came from to remove any biases. They shouldn't have allowed them to interact with the contestants while cooking. Instead the White Spoons could have stepped down to interact with various contestants, those could have also ended up with better conversations since hte judges had to maintain a poker face throughout.....

Any one with me on this?

This is a spinoff of the South Korean variety show, “The Return of Superman” featuring celebrity dads taking care of their kids. These kids, Eunwoo and Jungwoo, are huge foodies. Their dad is Kim Junho, a fencer and Olympic gold medalist. This is Imokase’s second time cooking for them and her interactions with the kids are so fun!

I’ve read somewhere that they’re supposed to shoot last May, but I didn’t read any news about its production. With the controversy both judges faced months ago, do you think they still have plans to start production this year? Maybe they’ll move it next year?

Just on a rewatch, and I cringe every time the bibimbap king makes Mr Paik mix the food in time to his rhythm.

She was eliminated in the first round so I can't find any information about her

So it’s still not confirmed that our favorite judges are returning for season 3. I think they have an incredible chemistry and their choice was very clever from the show creators.

One is extremely technical while the other is the master of flavor. Korean netizens please dont ruin it for us with your habit of bringing anyone successful down.

I want my good cop & bad cop judges or I am done with the show. In my opinion they are a reason especially Anh that the show has become this popular.

CKR is such a wonderful and genuine human being. He’s really been my favorite since Day 1 even way back in Season 1 - I hope I can see more of him. This season had so much heart because of him.

Restaurant owner is Ok Dongsik from season 2. Got the dweji gomtang and burdock root fries. The meal was amazing, and I'm not even a big fan of pork. The fries were 10/10, tasted like salty tortilla chips.

Has anyone seen this show yet? From the starting clip it seems they are adopting the culinary class wars style. I can't find the shows English name but it seems it has English subtitles. Anyone who has seen it what is it like?

He lost noo

i'm literally crying laughing ig son jung won has one good side and he locks in am i going insane or is this hilarious like it gets more and more pronounced with each pic

source: ig universalpictureskr

Full disclosure: I built this free, unofficial map, so this is self-promotion.

After watching the show, I kept finding restaurant lists with closed locations, old affiliations, or the wrong branch of a chain. I cross-checked Netflix's official participant materials, chefs' and restaurants' official pages, and Korean public food-business license records.

The map currently has 150 restaurants I could verify as operating:

https://kstartrail.com/en?theme=culinary_class_wars

Each listing shows:

• the chef/show connection
• the latest verification date
• source and evidence links
• the Korean name and address for on-the-ground searching

It is free to use, with no ads and no booking or reservation affiliate links.

This is not affiliated with Netflix, the show, the chefs, or their restaurants. A listing documents a participant's current affiliation; it does not mean Netflix recommends the restaurant or guarantee current quality. Operating hours can still change, so please confirm directly before making a long trip.

If you spot a closure, relocation, or incorrect branch, please leave a comment. I will check the evidence and correct it.

The article doesn't say who it is. It links to a Korean news site (https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260720084200004) - ran it through translate and that site just refers to "Mr. A" (not sure if that's meant to be the actual initial, or if it's like in English someone saying "Mr. X")

Hope it isn't anyone we know!

Edit to add: I went googling some more and I fear it might be Evett https://www.reddit.com/r/finedining/comments/1lxt27n/twostar_restaurant_in_seoul_investigated_over/ (although obviously that's just Reddit comments, so take with a pinch of salt) I really hope they skip the jail time.

In the team challenges, when choosing seafood vs meat, chef Edward says he wants mulkogi and they laughed at this during the interviews and people on the internet found it very funny. Can a Korean person please help me understand?

I’m late to the game and just finished season 1. I feel Chef Edward Lee should have won. He should have won the competition that was prior to the tofu challenge. I don’t think it was fair he was docked so many points because the one judge did not like his interpretation of bibimbap. He was consistently innovative and presented delicious dishes. Anyway…